Reflections of a Wifie

So I thought I would share a little of my perspective on marriage with you. Granted, I have only 21 months of experience, but I feel I've learned a lot so far. First of all, it is amazing spend life growing in your knowledge and love of another human being, especially one you thought was great to start out with. I have learned to be accepting of faults and humbled at my own, sensitive to feelings and more aware of my own, amazed at the kindness, gentleness and carefreeness of my man and free to express my own version of those things.

Freedom has been a priority in our relationship and one that is a challenge to maintain. By this I mean creating an environment of freely flowing information, freedom to make choices with taint of expectation and manipulation, and freedom to love and serve one another with all we are.

Of course there are the simple things too: cleaning and organizing house, laundry, cooking and the aquisition of things. These things sap more time and energy than I ever could have thought. I certainly appreciate the fact that our home is an apartment for now, because that means no yard to maintain, a small space to keep clean and a free handyman to fix everything that breaks.

Married life (as so many people ask) is great! We are having so much fun with each other, and laughter is a part of every day. We've had challenges, but find our strength to endure in God. It is great being part of a bigger story, one not just about us, but one that includes history, today and eternity.

Us: April-September 2005

Proposal at Joshua Tree, CA


Cliff Jumping at Sunset Falls, Yacolt, WA


Wedding at Lewisville Park, Battle Ground , WA


Wedding Farewell Photo


Honeymoon: Scuba in Cozumel, Mexico


Sight-seeing in Mexico

A Weekend in the Life of the Smiths

I wish I had the energy to post about all the wonderful things we've experienced in our first 1.75 years of marriage. To go back further, and tell the story of our lives before we met and how we grew together would take weeks to complete! I think the best thing to do is to give you a sense of our lives today, this week, the present.

Weekends are a highpoint for us. They mark the beginning of the Sabbath, a day of rest and fellowship with our family in Christ. They are also the time when we get to play! Here's what they look like, on a typical weekend:

Friday evening (about every other) we gather with friends for an evening of relaxation, spiritual renewal and friendship.

Sabbath morning we take our time getting ready, make last minute preparations for the day and arrive at church around 9:45 AM. Jack teaches the biblestudy class for young adults and it begins at 10 AM. We gather, study and have a few minutes for application/ reflection and socializing. The worship service begins at 11:15 AM and concludes around 12:30 PM. Once or twice a month I help lead the praise singing with a few other young adults. After church we try to find a place to enjoy lunch with friends. If it is nice weather, we run for the outdoors, but if not, we visit and share and sometimes nap in the afternoon. Come evening we are looking for fun and laughter and usually spend time playing games or visiting with friends.

Sunday we've made it a tradition to play Ultimate Frisbee down at the Officer's Row lawn starting at about 10:30/11 AM. After about 2 hours we find some food and sometimes gather at someone's home to study the Bible together (by now it is a smaller group). If we have projects at home, they might trump our extended playtime!



That's what our weekends look like. Full, fun and friend-filled!

Greetings!

Dear friends and family,

I'd like to welcome you to our family blog. We hope you enjoy keeping informed of our adventures just as much as we enjoy telling you about them. There are two important things you should know about us. First, that we are on an exciting journey together. Our lives are fast-paced and moving forward with purpose! Second, that our goal is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and live abudant lives as a result. We look forward to the adventures ahead and all the ways that God is moving to bring about good in our lives. Won't you join us on this journey?

Love,
Jack and Nikki